Palmer Party: Let's split Queensland in two

THE Queensland Palmer United Party has splits on the mind - one day after Alex Douglas resigned from the party, its sole remaining state MP has called for north Queensland to be made its own state.

Carl Judge, who, as the only remaining PUP MP was named leader of the party by federal leader Clive Palmer after Alex Douglas resigned on Monday, said creating a separate state for north Queensland "would be a major policy of the Palmer United Party going in to the next state election."

"The Palmer United Party believes there would be significant advantages to North Queensland's self-government," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The region has long been neglected by both the state and federal governments, yet it continues to act as a major economic centre and contributor to the Australian economy."

Dividing the state would also remove Mr Palmer's Townsville nickel refinery from the Queensland government's scope of influence, but Mr Judge said north Queensland had the "industry and economic viability to be recognised as Australia's official seventh state".